Hi Bhav!

Its been a long time since we last chatted. My internet here in college has been kinda screwy with plenty of viruses and worms. The blaster virus really ticked us all off..and the problem hasnt still be completely rectified. So, my net keeps going up and down all the time. I have never been so cut off from the rest of the world till now. The only people that I had contact with were my parents, through the phone. Anyway, I tried calling you but the call never goes through!

School has started in full blast and this semester seems like it will kick ass. My easiest class is Topics of Scientific Inquiry where I am studying environmental chemistry, to be more specific toxicology of various chemicals in our surroundings. And then I have Calculus 3, where I am doing vector calculus currently..so far so good. Computer Sciennce 1 should be also interesting, learning how to program for the first time in pascal. And then finally the tougher of the physics courses, modern physics. So far, it seems like I should be able to handle this course but I dont know about later. And the course which will truly kick my ass is Mechanical Formulations where we study physics on a truly advanced math level with vector calculus and gradient stuff and matrices! I might actually drop this class but still sit in the classes to learn stuff. I just dont want to be tested on this stuff..Now thats acads..

And then comes everythign else. Now that I am this year's I-Club president, I have to do so much of plannign and stuff for all the events coming up. For example the canoe trip this weekend. Man, logistics is tough business! I hope this one goes without a hitch. And then the bigger one is the Minneapolis trip during Oct 11-13, should be plenty of fun..I am going to do some shopping there..saving up now for that! And so many wonderful people have come in this year. I am getting to know the korean, european and american freshmen really well and I am happy about that..I am not all that bored here anymore like last year and they dont have to go through all that I had to go through. I try to help them out as much as possible to make their stay here nice because the german girls leave in december.

I am still coming to India. I just havent been able to book my ticket yet. If I dont get the free ticket with my father's miles, then we have to pay $1500 atleast for a new ticket! If that happens I'd be so pissed off! And I am seriously considerig coming back to the US quickly if I dont get to see any friends in Hyd..I will come to Hyd surely, just dont know how long I'd want to stay because everyone will be busy even you..I know you will take some time off for me, and I am counting on that, by the way.

Anyway, I plan to get a cell phone sometime really soon to be more accessible to people. You can call me if you want to, I dont know how much it costs thats all. I would love to talk to you on the phone but I never get through.

Where are the rest of your pictures? I should have some brand new ones soon, and I'l put them up on the web when I find time.

I wish we could chat or do something, but I don't know when you will be free enough for that. Email me if you see me online. Atleast we still have this means of communications.

I really miss you and can't wait to see you in December.

Love

joy

A week of school and I am already so busy. There are so many things going on simultaneously, sometimes its maddening. For one, homework and reading from my five classes. and then, organizing stuff for the I-club. and i have made so many new friends. about friends, i seem to lose my really good ones after 6 months of knowing them. this really freaks me out. my first semester friendship that changed was komal, but i made new ones which helped me get over this. and then i got really close to mary and kristin. and now, mary's no longer at coe, and i can't figure out kristin now, i dont know why. she's my best friend here now and i cant seem to get time with her. i do know she is busy but i dun know...

the bunch of international students that came in seem like a interesting group. we have so many students this year, my i-club's full and that makes me happy. it also means new people to know, and i have to remember their names! i have already made some really good friends from this bunch. I got to know Clem and Inga pretty well in the time they have been here. and then there is this korean group that seems like a lot of fun. and then some americans who are interested in the i-club. i hang out with all of them at some point of the day. atleast it keeps my mind off depressing stuff. man, i miss mary a lot. and miho, rieko, namee and aqui. and bhav. havent heard from her in a loooong time. i wish i can resolve my issues with kristin soon, although i dont know what issues they are.

the college network being down, my communication with the rest of the world has been effectively cut off. no chatting, no emailing from my own computer. and i am too lazy to come to the lab everyday. these viruses have really ticked me off! but anyhow, i like being in my room in greene now, its cool and clean now that i set my stuff up. i like living with tyler, its bound to be a eventful year............

I always wonder if there are some things I do or say that drive girls away or turn them off. I kept thinking about Lara and why she hasn't replied to my emails or returned any calls. I can't seem to think of a reason that would have caused this kind of reaction. And then there is Sarah, I wonder if I am paying too much attention to her by asking her if she needs help setting up her floor or whether she wants to watch a movie with me. I thought that offers like this was sign of being friendly. Apparently not I guess. I just wish I am not stifling Kristin. She is the last person I would want to lose. She has been the only one apart from Mary from whom I've heard at least once a week. And I didn't even have to initiate this. I am glad I got to know Kristin because I like being around her. I have had some of the longest and most unique conversations with her. singing at lengths, musicals often. The only precedent to this was my phone chats with Bhavya...

Hi Bhav!

Thought I would write an email since it's tougher for you to get online now. I hope you are holding up to all that travel to reach school. How have you been the past few weeks? Is your mom doing better?

Since we last chatted, I seemed to have full days. Now that the summer is nearing an end, things have become more hectic. Last week itself is an example.

I spent the weekend on Kit's (my summer roomie) farm. It was my first time on a real farm. And I got to meet his parents and his sister. I like this girl, she's very sweet. Helped me out by cleaning my room with me and driving me around when she was at Coe for a week on a camp. I had some good ol' American food. I took a tour of his farm, equipment and the fields. I helped them move the greenhouse they were making. I drove an ATV four wheeler, that was fun! They also have a pond with a paddle boat and a canoe. Its a nice place there and their parents were very friendly. I really had a good time there.

Sunday ended with a raging storm in Cedar Rapids with tornados, 3 of them. It was crazy here, all of us took shelter in the basement of my dorm, ie our floor. Quite a few big trees got uprooted, and some of them broke a few feet above the ground. I saw the mess when I was getting to work. The funny sight was our college President standing out in the quad looking at his precious broken trees sadly. And we also had a fabulous steak dinner thrown to the research students and faculty. I had a huge steak, it was so big that I simply couldnt finish it. Food flows too freely here, dangit! Doesn't help me with loosing weight..lol..

Tuesday, me and Scott had to go to Iowa State University to run some Raman IR tests on some of the glasses that we had made. These glasses absorb water like hell, so we can't work with these in air. We had to work in a Helium glove box preparing pans for the Raman for 3 freaking hours straight! Anyway, the test took only about an hour for 9 samples. Well, although the results that we saw weren't great, we figured that it was a first step towards improving our samples. And then before coming back, we both spent $25 in a Pizzeria! lol..thats about 4 times the normal amount, although the pizza that we ate was huge and very good and this went on Doc's tab because he told us that he would pay for our lunch there! Food yet again, its a change from microwaveble food and peanut butter- jelly sandwiches atleast. And I did drive about 60 miles on the way back from the University. Scott let me drive his car without a licence on the highway, I was so excited to drive a car for the first time here!

Wednesday was the lunch day and we had Thai and Chinese food since the talk was about Anna and the King of Siam. We learnt some very interesting things about this story. First, most of the stuff in the movie didn't happen the way it was potrayed. Secondly, Anna was a liar. And contrary to popular belief, she was not born in England but in India and was the child of a mixed marriage, Indian woman and a British army man apparently. In the evening, me, Sara, Kit, Darbie and some of her friends went to drive-in movies in a town about 75 mins from school. We saw Legally Blonde 2 and T3 for just $6, it was awesome. Just one minor problem was that it got deadly cold by 11 and the movies went up to 1 in the morning on a school night (ok..work night).

Thursday was not a good day in research. Our nitrogen tanks ran out and we hadn't ordered new ones which made Doc mad because it wasted the entire morning. Well, there was only the morning to work today because we were going to a lake nearby to unwind. We splashed about in the water for a while playing frisbee. And then went for a boat ride and played sand volleyball. Its sad that the only thing I can do is serve, I wish I could do the rest of the stuff. I got back quick because my parents wanted to call me since I haven't got to chat with them a lot because the time difference is a bit annoying. And then one on my closest friends called me and told me that she won't be coming back to Coe. Man, that was so depressing because we hung out a lot along with Kristin. Atleast Kristin's coming back and I talk to her often, so I dont miss them a lot. Thank god for email and free phone calls.

But this weekend has been rather slow, apart from talking to Kristin, I did nothing else. I wish you would have come online but I know you are pretty busy, so I understand.

By the way, if this was too much detail, just tell me. I just wanted you to know how my week went. Tell me whats going on there..

Sending you lots of love

Joy

Now that the summer is nearing an end, things have become more hectic. Last week itself is an example.

I spent the weekend on Kit's (my summer roomie) farm. It was my first time on a real farm. And I got to meet his parents and his sister. I like this girl, she's very sweet. Helped me out by cleaning my room with me and driving me around when she was at Coe for a week on a camp. I had some good ol' American food. I took a tour of his farm, equipment and the fields. I helped them move the greenhouse they were making. I drove an ATV four wheeler, that was fun! They also have a pond with a paddle boat and a canoe. Its a nice place there and their parents were very friendly. I really had a good time there.

Sunday ended with a raging storm in Cedar Rapids with tornados, 3 of them. It was crazy here, all of us took shelter in the basement of my dorm, ie our floor. Quite a few big trees got uprooted, and some of them broke a few feet above the ground. I saw the mess when I was getting to work. The funny sight was our college President standing out in the quad looking at his precious broken trees sadly. And we also had a fabulous steak dinner thrown to the research students and faculty. I had a huge steak, it was so big that I simply couldnt finish it. Food flows too freely here, dangit! Doesn't help me with loosing weight..lol..

Tuesday, me and Scott had to go to Iowa State University to run some Raman IR tests on some of the glasses that we had made. These glasses absorb water like hell, so we can't work with these in air. We had to work in a Helium glove box preparing pans for the Raman for 3 freaking hours straight! Anyway, the test took only about an hour for 9 samples. Well, although the results that we saw weren't great, we figured that it was a first step towards improving our samples. And then before coming back, we both spent $25 in a Pizzeria! lol..thats about 4 times the normal amount, although the pizza that we ate was huge and very good and this went on Doc's tab because he told us that he would pay for our lunch there! Food yet again, its a change from microwaveble food and peanut butter- jelly sandwiches atleast. And I did drive about 60 miles on the way back from the University. Scott let me drive his car without a licence on the highway, I was so excited to drive a car for the first time here!

Wednesday was the lunch day and we had Thai and Chinese food since the talk was about Anna and the King of Siam. We learnt some very interesting things about this story. First, most of the stuff in the movie didn't happen the way it was potrayed. Secondly, Anna was a liar. And contrary to popular belief, she was not born in England but in India and was the child of a mixed marriage, Indian woman and a British army man apparently. In the evening, me, Sara, Kit, Darbie and some of her friends went to drive-in movies in a town about 75 mins from school. We saw Legally Blonde 2 and T3 for just $6, it was awesome. Just one minor problem was that it got deadly cold by 11 and the movies went up to 1 in the morning on a school night (ok..work night).

Thursday was not a good day in research. Our nitrogen tanks ran out and we hadn't ordered new ones which made Doc mad because it wasted the entire morning. Well, there was only the morning to work today because we were going to a lake nearby to unwind. We splashed about in the water for a while playing frisbee. And then went for a boat ride and played sand volleyball. Its sad that the only thing I can do is serve, I wish I could do the rest of the stuff. I got back quick because my parents wanted to call me since I haven't got to chat with them a lot because the time difference is a bit annoying. And then one on my closest friends called me and told me that she won't be coming back to Coe. Man, that was so depressing because we hung out a lot along with Kristin. Atleast Kristin's coming back and I talk to her often, so I dont miss them a lot. Thank god for email and free phone calls. And I think I set a personal record on the phone, 3 hours with Kristin!

Another night in Dad's office scanning photos and also wondering as to the method of transfering the pictures from this computer to anything else. To give you a picture of the computer I am using, its a PII machine with 128 MB RAM. All this has is a floppy drive which is practically useless in this case because I have to do about 80 MB of transfer atleast. I then decided that the internet was my best option. So I tried Yahoo!'s Briefcase but it seems too slow and it won't accept most of the filenames because they are too long. So, that venture was a failure. And then experimented by sending these pictures two at a time using my father's office mail which was fortunately open. So, far its working. *crossing fingers and praying*.

Right now, I am sitting in my father's office scanning photos of my childhood. I plan to get some of these printed and most of them will be going online in my photo album too.

*The damn firewall in the office blocks all messengers! Even at home, it blocks AIM while it lets the rest of them to work, I dont know what's up with that. I thought I'd chat as well and scan. Doesnt seem like it now. I simply can't figure out why it doesnt work even with the proxy input. I give up!*

This time the trip home has certainly not been a cakewalk. Got to the airport and then found out that Air France and Delta had different baggage policies. I had to pay 110 bucks to carry the cycle along with me, I was soo pissed. They are both members of the Skyteam, some team members. I really dont feel like flying Air France anymore, I have seriously had enough, over priced tickets and sub par services. Anyway, flight to Paris was 8 and a half hours long because the plane had to circle and land in the airport from the other side due to cross winds. That ate 30 minutes of my 2 hour transit here. And then after landing it took the bus 45 minutes to pick us up. ie 15 minutes left for me to get to board which included taking a bus and passing security checks. I barely made it to the flight only to find out that the flight would be 1.5 hours late due to a cargo door part malfunction. What luck! But I was glad that I got to Lagos at last and with all my baggage! Thank God that Papa also arrived the same evening, thats the only reason that I was picked up too, because they had me slated in to come tomorrow. Got to the guesthouse and set out for home at 5.30 in the morning. great! to top off the armed robberies,we now have a fuel strike. This country is going to the dogs, wait, its already gone to the dogs...

Today was a good day. Although, all we did were
four solutions, rest of the things in the day were good.  I finally got the
much awaited camera that was a royal pain in the ass
to order. Took a short break from work to fetch it from the mailroom after I saw
that it had arrived using the tracking number. Its a wonderful camera, half my
palm.. its a teeny tiny camera perfect for mom! I am going to try it out before
I take it home for sure, maybe take some pictures in Peterson.

Now, the part that brightened my day was that Bhav
finally sent me some of the pictures that I had been bugging her for the last
8 months!! Pictures from her childhood, ie baby size and then probably 5
year old pictures. And then there were some more recent photos, from school and
junior college.. some with friends and some without. The picture I liked the
best was the one with the lovely smile during her 17th
birthday, youthful exuberance in her grin... Where did those days go :-(?
days I would talk to her everyday, talk to someone I had met just once or twice
but yet best friends....

I talked to Kristin and chatted with Mary for quite sometime. It feels good to talk to good friends, it brightened the rest of my evening for sure. I introduced Kristin to the new messenger and we had loads of fun exploring the options. We went all out on emoticons, finding new and strange emoticons was awesome. She is being kept busy, but going a bit insane with 13-14 year old kids. She needs a few days off.

This week zipped by! I am at Peterson for 8 hours and sometime more..Work feels good but sometimes there is nothign for me to do, well, maybe there is but paper reading is boring.. Now that we are making hygroscopic glasses, this needs work in the nitrogen environment glove box. Its a pain to use and only one person can work on it at a time. I have been reading books there as well. I finished one complete book in 3 days, just imagine the time I don't do anything there. But there was a welcome distraction during this week. Kit's sister came to a cross country camp at Coe. It was fun having her around most of the time. And she cooks very well, before she left, she made a cake for me! Noone's ever done that. And this girl knows how to flirt, perpetual i'd say. Even Xae noticed it. The flirting was a load of fun, she flirting with me and me flirting back, whole lot of harmless fun. She was also my DD for most of the trips, like to the Driver's License office, shopping..It was a fun week even in the evenings. I have been invited to their house, I should be going there sometime.. Anyway, I also want to talk to sunshine sometime, it's been a while since we actually talked, IM sometimes doesnt feel complete. I wil be calling Kristin sometime today as well, and try to get hold of Lara for the umpteenth time. Maybe I should simply give up on her, its been 3 months since I've last talked to her. Part of the reason I dont want to give up because she is the only friend I have made outside Coe, my only other friend apart from the ones at Coe.

For the first time, online shopping was a pain in the ass. Shopping for the camera turned out to be a bigger challenge than what I thought would be. I hope I get it quick. Plus, i need to get a laptop for dad's office, i hope I can buy it before I leave, there is only one left at Bestbuy and I need to get to that before anyone else does. Plus, I hope I can travel back home because I was told I didnt need a French transit visa but now Im not that sure. KEeping my fingers crossed for all of this.

Its been a while since I've blogged, but then it probably is because nothing exciting has happened this past week. I have been in Peterson from 9 to 5 everyday. But that doesnt mean that I have been doing much because I have been reading up on this method more than actually doing something. I know there is no use being restless about this because Doc knows what he is doing, but I don't know how he woudl gauge if I am ready if I am not doing much. Until he thinks I am ready, I won't be paid! Its been 40 hours of free work already, and I would really like to start earning money that I can spend during the summer here. While doing research, I am getting to know a lot of people working there as well. Scott (Im his gopher) told me a bit about himself, he has a totally different life than me for sure, he has a daughter.. I am also getting to know Sara and Beth much better now. And the evenings after research have been passing really quickly. and days have been ending rather quickly around 11.30 because Kit needs absolute silence while sleeping, so no chatting once he gets into the bed. But it is fine I think, I get more rest this way. This weekend was fine. Kit left for home after research and I went to a party in the evening. It was a good release for the week. Six pack of Smirnoff was enough to get me a little buzz, and I talked to some people here (this was a sit-drink-talk-play party, not the dance involved ones I normally go to). During this, me and Sara went out for some fresh air, she told me a bit more about herself and I opened up more (probably due to the buzzing) talking about past experiences at Coe. She is a great girl, Marty's real lucky I'd say, intelligent, perky and ambitious..I also met Katie, one of the Upper Bound counselors from UNI, it nice to meet new people from outside Coe. I know just one person outside Coe and I have been trying to talk to her forever, I don't know what the deal is. And after the party when I got back to my room, I was real happy I could get on my loft to sleep, helluva lot better than sleeping on the floor..

Sunday, me and Ben went for a ride around the city first to search for a place to eat and then garage sale hopping, it was definitely fun. And then we ended up watching another movie in the night. The night before I watched 3 movies including one with Jenna. I wish we had more time to hang out but oh well.. So overall, a good weekend I'd say..

I also talked to Mary in the night. It been a week since I have seen her. The last 2 months were spent mostly with them. I got to know them well, and they didnt mind having me around. I spent some nights getting to know Mary better before she left because there was a distinct possibility that she wouldn't be coming back. She is truly one of a kind, I met her in the beginning of the year at a church and tried to get talking but she simply wouldn't. I guessed she was introverted and I guessed right. This guess was further consolidated when Kristin did talk to me and Becky when we were there and I tried my best trying to engage Mary in any sustained conversation. Thats the first and last time that I saw them together for about 6 months. I saw Mary again in another 2 months when she moved down to Calc 1 from 2. I thought she was familiar when I saw her in the class but couldn't place her. It took me a day to realize that she was the same girl I had met couple of months back at the makeshift church. I tried yet again to engage her in conversation but failed yet again. I didnt know if it was me or she just didnt want to talk, I simply couldnt figure it out. I didnt approach her anymore during the rest of the semester. The next time I saw her and Kristin was during 24/7 when I actually talked to her and got some laughs out of them. Slowly but surely she became more free around me, took about a month. And since then, she has been a wonderful friends, someone who I liked being around and she liked being around me. Henceforth my 2nd home in Murray. I spent most of my free time there. I think I was there later than I was at any one else's room ever, apart from the times that I had to take care of a puking buddy. And she is the only one I call sunshine, among all my friends. Also, she is probably the only person I know who is thinking of transfering because she is unhappy here. I really do wish she comes back here, life would certainly be different without her here. I also think she has a very refreshing style of dressing, something I haven't seen a long time. A great friend once she becomes comfortable around someone, a ray of sunshine.. I hope she is having fun dancing!!

I also talked to my parents, something that is going on everyday now. They are in sync with everythign that is going on here. I am so happy that there is nothing I hide from them, they know about my friends, my inclination towards wine and other expensive drinks which keeps me away from drinking, my plans for the summer, my grades, my plans for the winter.... We are buying a digital camera and they are deciding on one to buy and I am helping in the process in means of suggestion. We have been researching for a camera for mom that she can carry around and still be a good digital camera for home. We should be making the decision soon I think. I also have to send in the application for Nigerian Visa. I have to spend 200 freaking dollars on a stupid and digusting third world country's visa! Although the job dad has there is paying for my education. I don't even like to call it home there, all that I go for are my parents. I don't even have friends there. Many facilites but no one to share it with, play with, talk with...I wish some of my friends would come home with me one break, I'll show them the beauty of the campus and I'll realize the fun I can have if I have close friends around. My bro is always there.... Thats the only relief, Robi is someone I talk to sometimes, watch movies with, play with... I really do miss him, I think about things he is doing with his new friends in Woodstock, if he is happy there and playing everything safe. I will be seeing my parents and brother in a month if all goes well. My ticket is booked just my visa needs to be done. I have to get a passport size photo and a $200 DD to accompany the application.

The only things that were out of ordinary in the last two days were the chats (internet and phone) I had.

My day started out with Bhavya finally coming online after 3 painfully long weeks. I would wait every weekend in the morning to get her online but it never happened. Then I realized she must have been nursing her mom once she got out of the hospital. She is one of the most responsible people I know. There have been many friends I thought were responsible and "good". Well, I'll never see them in the same light anymore, I still like them exactly as before, maybe a bit more but I will see them as normal people with temptations and the inability to conquer it, no more super women. With every chat, I get to know her better. I just wish I could hear her voice with all the inflections and nuances in the tone to catch her train of thought. eChat simply is not enough, even though I have audio-video chat capabilites, she doesnt. Its just not the same.

*I still remember when I talked to her after almost a year when I was in Toronto, Canada during Spring Break. The 30 minutes of talk time was enough to quench my thirst that had been building up all this while. She has a lot on her mind, I want to be there for her all the time and I think she knows that she has one friend here who loves her the way she is. She changed my life since I've met her, I see things differently. I think one of the saddest days in my life was when we met for the last time before I left for Nigeria. The lunch at Pizza Hut (our first lunch date), the shopping at Lifestyle for my watch (I spent a major chunk of my pocket money on this, my parents were really pissed about it, oops), she then bought me a book (Abduction by Robin Cook) and I ended the shopping by buying a shirt for her. She didnt want me to, but I told her that I wanted to buy her something before I left, because I wouldn't see her for a long time. I took her home to meet my parents because they hadn't met her for the 3 years I'd known her. For that, I had seen her only thrice in all the time I knew her. For the first time with a bunch of my friends around. Adu got her, and we saw each other for the first time then. Adu was a sweetie and still is if I can get to talk to her. Bhavya and me were very shy around each other even though we had talked on the phone for the last year. I guess it was strange to meet your a voice you hear on the phone in real life, in person.*

Oh my! I went off on a tangent there. Coming back to the topic of me talking to her yesterday. She wasn't home for three weeks, she was at her grampa's. No wonder she couldn't come online. Even yesterday, she made a point to get out and get me online. Thats so sweet of her, that meant a lot to me even if she didn't notice. She did something like this last year as well. She woke up at 2 AM just to talk to me. My, this would something I would normally do. I wake up early for my parents all the time especially when they call me because thats one time they can actually get a hold of for sure. Anyway, she was telling me how she had to be with her mom most of the time to massage her to prevent DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) because the hip implant was replaced. She really needs to take some time off and relax for a few days, let her sis and dad handle it for a few hours so that she can go out for a breath. I am really worried about her health too. I also discovered one thing about her that she "forgot" to mention in all our chats before, she beat the shit out of a girl in her grade 11 residential hall. Oh my! She is a firecracker! I didn't think she had such a short fuse! The story was action packed! I wish I was there to see this catfight as she put it. But whats a cat fight with pulling each other's hair or scratching faces! We talked for a loooong time. It felt so good. Brought a smile to my rather damp week, a ray of sunshine, something that wasnt there for a long time. The only other people who bring sunshine to my life are Mary and Kristin....

I got my grades today. It was exactly what I expected, A's in gen 2, calc 2, and hons comp and a B in chem. My first B came in this subject which I was supposed to be good at:-(. I don't know what went wrong. My quizzes and lab got my score down, i just wish he took the best of the answers, that would have improve my score dramatically. But there is no point thinking about this. I was unwilling to go get my scores, rather live without knowing how I did, but I know its stupid to think like that. And seems like my lunch has made my tummy grumble, Ramen, you suck! but maybe it wasnt cooked the right way....
I wonder how my friends are doing now. Mary should be on her way to Seattle, i dont know how long that drive is. Kristin is swim coaching, and painting houses. Jeshica, Rishav and Komal are working. Jessi is working at a hardware store, I don't know for sure what Tara is doing, Michelle's at a frat house for the summer. Jenna will be going to a christian camp as a counselor I think but before that she's coming back to Coe for an Alumni event next weekend. I will be spending time with her then as far as I know.

I went up to Deanna to find out how the bookings for various events were going on and if I got the summer RA job for the japanese students during the month of august. I did get the job and now I must see what the responsibilities are.. That should be really interesting experience..And the money although little should help, I really wanna start spending my own money instead of dad's. I think his money should be used for necessities only not luxuries. My lunch and dinner turned out to be the leftovers from yesterday's pizza. I spent most of the afternoon perusing the web for alternate accomadations for the fall break Chicago trip. I just realized that the amount of the money we had for the lodging is not adequate. This absolutely sucks! I need to go in and talk to Joanna and get suggestions. I need the help in this matter and there is no one here for it. Katie and Lisa's sky high wall impossible to get over, so aloof! And Carla, I just don't know sometimes. All of them have authority issues. Anyway, on a brighter note I did talk to my parents for a long time. We have discussing shopping again, seems like we are getting some big things now, dvd player, digital camera, camcorder (maybe), and a notebook for office but I guess for personal use as well. And I got Lara's email, seems like I just have been unlucky in getting a hold of her.. Saadia stayed over in my room because she didnt want to stay in the ghetto apartment with Tapi. Apparently she doesnt mind sleeping on the carpet, poor thing, she slept amidst the mess in my room..

Today's moving day into summer dorm housing. I jus went to the res life office but they won't let us move in till 4 today. Yesterday I went to a resturaunt called Metro Buffet, they have good food and a lot of it for just ten bucks.. just imagine how boring this day was.. The night was better, i talked to Kristin for a long time, feels good to talk to friends, this is as good as it will get over these months. I also discovered Mary's gift later in the evening. I was soo happy to get it, sunshine brightened my day up! I must call to talk to her today sometime. I called Lara again and the call got disconnected again. I really dont know what is going on........

Sunday, the day when the last of my friends left for home, especially my two best friends, Mary and Kristin. I gave big hugs because I wouldn't be seeing them for more than 3 months....I am sorely going to miss them, already am and it hasn't even been a day. Feels like I am addicted to them but in a good sort of a way, they have been an integral part of my freshman year during this last semester.. I am so glad I got to know them this semester. I also saw Michelle, Kari, Tara, Jenna and Liz leave as well. Although Jenna will be back on 6th to stay here for a couple of days. Post 4 PM, the entire campus went dead.. I think there are around 40 people left maybe from the original 1000.. NOrmally when I had free time, I would be spending it with Mary and Kristin, but now they are not there and I can't think of anything fun to do..

And two days later, my life as a freshman is over. By 2.30, I was done with my physics final and got out to smell the air of freedom for 10 days before research starts. Day of sadness for all most of my friends left..and more leaving Sunday..Im yet to think about ways to spend the week before research. Day started off fine..prepared my cheat sheet for the physics final and then went on to lunch. I finally shaved and tamed my hair, and dressed better for once..I was there at lunch for an hour and a half because I wouldnt be seeing some of the people before I was done. I gave her a hug wishing her a great summer.. Its the last time I saw her before she would be back in August. I didnt see Jeshica before she left nor did I see Rieko before she left. Then gave my final test and I was done!! Kit and me went to Best Buy and bought a DVD player for the summer. I saw the Matrix Reloaded as well, that is one kick ass movie (quite literally)!! And that was the day..